Head coach Sean Long has urged his players to thrive off the buzz around their first game of the Betfred League One season and says there will be no excuses when his side bid for a winning start in Cumbria.
The Roughyeds boss has praised the club’s “outstanding” fans who are again expected to travel in number, and has challenged his players to repay the supporters with a stylish performance to open the campaign.
“There will be no excuses at Workington,”
Long told Roughyeds TV, having made just one change to his squad with George Hirst replacing Cian Tyrer.
Loan signing Phoenix Laulu-Togaga’e has trained with his new team-mates but is not yet included while Elijah Taylor, Pat Moran and Craig Kopczak remain sidelined.
“We have a real sense of excitement going into the first game, everyone is buzzed up and we are going up there to put in a strong performance,”
Long added, in an exclusive interview with Roughyeds TV.
“It could be deep in water up there but we are not bothered and will get the job done.
“The fans have been outstanding, especially at Barrow, it drove us home when we were hanging on. The fans will get behind us and we want to put on a good performance, but we have to lay the foundations first and put in the grind.”
Oldham come into the season opener off the back of two Cup defeats against Championship opposition, at York in the 1895 Cup and at Swinton in the Challenge Cup. But Long is confident of a big response, and has revealed how he has put his faith in his senior players in training to get back on track.
“The Cup competitions have gone now and we are focusing on the league. There has been a good vibe this week in training and we are getting back to winning ways.
“Ultimately I put the system in place and they (the experienced players) run the show. I’m not out on the field so Matty Wildie, Elijah Taylor, Craig Kopczak, Danny Craven - players like that - they know how we attack and defend, they took the team session, I leave it to them. I have trust in them and I trust them to go out there and do the right thing.”
